Geraldton Buccaneers go down at home to Rockingham Flames 94-93 following late untimely foul

Tensions flared late on Saturday and a controversial foul with 1½ seconds left on the clock saw the Geraldton Buccaneers lose to the Rockingham Flames 94-93 at home.

After dominating the game early, the Buccaneers saw their lead erased and the game was tight late, but an untimely foul saw Rockingham take the win by one point.

With less than two seconds left to play and the game tied 93-93, the Flames had one last chance to inbound the ball and try to get a shot off before the game went to extra time.

Instead, a foul was called on Josh Braun holding his opponent before the ball was inbounded, giving Rockingham the chance to shoot a free throw before regaining possession.

There was noticeable confusion on the court and sidelines about what the foul was for, and after minutes of deliberating, the officials gave the Buccs the technical foul, meaning Rockingham had a free chance to win the game.

The crowd were livid, and a normally calm Buccs coach Dayle Joseph was animated on the sideline after the call was made.

Travis Durnin went to the line for Rockingham and knocked down the shot to put his side ahead by one point, and the Flames then regained possession to inbound the ball. They managed to take the time off the clock and win the game by one point.

As the game ended, the Geraldton crowd booed because of the questionable foul ended.

Despite the loss, the game was in the Buccaneers’ favour early, with the side controlling the match, taking an 11-point lead in the first quarter.

The margin jumped to as much as 13 during the second, but the Flames started charging and suddenly it was just a four-point game at the half-time break.

All the momentum Geraldton had in the first quarter was gone, and the home side found themselves down heading into the final period, outscored 22-28 in the third.

A score early from Johny Narkle tied the match up, but costly mistakes let Rockingham take a nine-point lead with just three minutes left to play.

Geraldton did not roll over, mounting a quick comeback with scores from Liam Hunt, Josh Keyes, Nik DeSantis and Narkle to bring the margin to two points.

With 11 seconds left to play, Narkle managed to draw fouls on back-to-back possessions, sinking two of the four to tie the game up before the untimely foul let Rockingham take the win.

The loss is just Geraldton’s second of the season, and they remain at the top of the table.

One more win will guarantee they finish in first place.

A 25-point night from DeSantis led the team as he added four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Narkle had 19 points, five rebounds and two steals, Hunt finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, Keyes scored 13 points and seven rebounds, and Braun scored 12 points.

The 11-game win streak for the Buccaneers now comes to an end and the side have had two losses at home this season after going undefeated at Activewest Stadium last year.

They will have a chance for redemption and to lock down the top spot with their final regular season home game on Saturday, July 13 when they host the Mandurah Magic.